Once Upon a Time
by dreamschemer
Summary: This story might happen once upon a time, but it's no fairytale...


I want to start off by explaining that this story is completely AU. It occurs in the future, with Voldemort long killed about thirty years prior. This is also going to be a rather long and darkish fic, though not that dark. And... That's all I can think of, now. Review if you like it. Oh, and if you've got any ideas for it, tell me. The storyline can be rather restrictive in some ways, but for the most part I haven't thought up what will take up the substance of the plot. K. Enjoy!

Chapter One: A Boy, a Book, and a Beginning

_…The history surrounding the late nineteen-hundreds European magical dark ages, also known as the Dark Years, remains shrouded in mystery. As occurs in times of war, names and dates, numbers, facts, even seemingly insignificant details surrounding these eras have been distorted to either sides' advantage: great victories were heralded, and defeats were downplayed; and perhaps most significantly in these wars, terrible travesties were covered up. _

_One of the greatest cruelties that had occurred during these dark days happened to none other than the key defender of the light, one Harold James Potter. Mostly because of the doctrine of censorship held by Cornelius Fudge and Rufus Scrimgouer, the Ministers of Magic during the Second War, little information is known about this final battle overcoming the early Dark Lord Voldemort- and even less is known about the Order of the Phoenix's campaigne against the Dark Lord Voldemort for that same reason._

_Despite these massive cover ups done by a corrupt government, there is evidence to suggest that the great Harry Potter ruthlessly followed his role as hero to the wizarding world for a pure, if daunting cause: it was rumored that this youth, a boy no more than seventeen during the final battle of Stonespeak(1), was prophesized to be the only wizard capable of defeating the early Dark Lord Voldemort. _

_Despite the many inaccuracies and false information surrounding final battle of the Second Dark War (DWII), two truths were made unmistakably clear by the end of that night: Lord Voldemort was slain by Potter's hand, and the White Knight himself (as Potter came to be known as in the months before the final battle) was missing. Later that night, the newly established leader of the light Minerva McGonagall was said to be the first to find out what had happened to their young hero in a detailed message that most magical historians mark as the beginning of the Third Dark War. The message stated that their young hero had been captured by the then vestigial dark faction, the Sons of Saul, and they called for the surrender of Britain to the leader of the newly founded group, Lucius Malfoy._

_The rest, as they say, is history. With the light army having suffered a loss of nearly two thirds of it's army in casualties, their key defender missing, and the rest of the wizarding world drunkenly celebrating their victory over 'He Who Shall Not Be Named' (as Lord Voldemort was called in those times), the Sons of Saul's takeover was sure and swift. The battle that took place, later called Bleeding Wednesday(2)', could hardly be called a battle: most who opposed the Sons of Saul's takeover were killed off quickly and easily._

_The period after this battle, known as the 'Reign of Bad Faith'(3), had devastating effects. The new Dark Lord Malfoy lead a vicious, fast paced campaign to take over the rest of the magical community, and the wizarding world balked and crumbled under his power. The magical world was slowly but steadily falling under the Sons of Saul's hold, and the Light Side was losing hope. _

_By the winter of 2007, The Light Army was preparing for one last stand against the Sons of Saul, a grim battle that the light side had little chance of winning to start with- and would surely decide the fate of the third war- when something truly incredible happened. On November 2nd, 2009, at 9:57 PM, Grenich Mean Time, DWIII ended in a single powerful magical explosion that destroyed Malfoy Castle and all inside, including Lord Malfoy and nearly all of his elite followers. To this day, there is no reasonable explanation as to how it happened._

_It is a widely accepted conjecture that the Dark Lord was celebrating his upcoming victory over the Light army when the explosion went off, it's destructive force ravaging an estimated 200 acres of land from the epicenter. Eproximated to have been between a 7.8 to 8 on the MMG(4) scale, this explosion was clearly a powerful work of magic, it's resonance felt as far away as the eastern hills of theUkraine._

_Noted to be the greatest magical occurrence since 1802(5)1, it seems more than mere coincidence that this incredible magical phenomenon happened at the site of the Dark Lord Malfoy's estates at a critical time in the war; while some suggest that it was a random natural phenomena, many experts disagree with this theory, saying that the time and placement of the magical outburst was much too fortuitous and precise to have been random. Conjectures about the remaining members of the Order of the Phoenix (most died during the battle of Stonespeak and Bloody Wednesday) planning the attack is a widely known theory, however no evidence has been found to back it. Similarly, theories about a special Ministry Ops Force have circulated, with equally insubstantial proof. _

_As for the less widely accepted theories, they can be rather wild and fantastical. However, a select few are plausible. One small group of specialists believe that the magical blast was done by one working in the ranks of the Sons of Saul; however, the chance for such an occurrence would have been very slim, due to the routine Klepheimer Exams(6) held monthly on all Lord Malfoy's followers. If one could, theoretically, find a way to trick, or avoid the exams, this theory might be sound._

_The strongest of these less popular hypotheses is in my opinon the 'White Knight Reborn' theory. In this theory, the vanished DWII hero Harry Potter creates the magical explosion. While initially this postualtion sounds far fetched, there are many holes to this young man's story that give this theory plausability. For instance, Mr. Potter's body was never found, which, while somewhat understandable, raises questions. Why didn't the Sons of Saul use the young hero's dead body as war propoganda, as they used many other famous dignitaries of the time? Why not use him to create the terrible Bane Scythe, a weapon formed out of powerful wizard's souls, as done to Wilhemina the Great of Ireland(7)?And in terms of power, why wasn't Potter a suspect in the first place, being possibly the only wizard capable of generating an explosion of that magnitude (if he were alive)? Even in Lord Malfoy's letter to Order leader McGonagall, his followers said the young man was _captured_, not killed._

_For a dead man, Harry Potter also seemed to travel quite frequently. In June of 2008, there was a report of Potter being seen by an Auror in France. In the fall of 2009, Harry was seen by a young girl at a flee market in Prauge, and again by a pastry vendor in a little village west of the city. The boy hero's death is still maintained to have happened some time during the fall of '07. Overall, these uncertainties lead the questioning mind to think more about the White Knight'spossible role in DWIII._

_What really happened that day, that moment that changed the history of the world as we know it? Who ( if it indeed was a who at all) gave the magical community the freedom to live safely out of the grasps of the Dark Lord? It is a mystery the wizarding world may never unravel, embedded in the sands of time. By living, we change the future each moment, like a grain of sand added to an hourglass. Make your mark if you can, and change the future by learning from the past. It is all one can hope for._

_Remember, 'Time Flies'._

_-Avia Thyme._

Leto sighed, carelessly dropping the book he was reading from, _True Stories of Three Wars_, onto the floor. It made it's home with a small collection of other books, articles, and novels, clearly strewn aside in the same way as it had been.

"Another dead end," He said quietly to himself, leaning back in his easy chair. There was more than just a note of frustration in the young man's voice, though the lacing of hopelessness was a new development. He ran a hand through his dark honey colored hair and let his reading glasses slide down from his amber brown eyes.

Leto Northbanks, a fourth year student at the prestigious Newthorn College of Magical Learning, was stumped. It was a rare occurrence for the bright 21 year old who held the position of top of his class in his chosen field, History of Magic, for the last four years of his university career.

If it came to goblin rebellions or mermish wars, troll rampages or wizard battles, he knew them all by heart; he could tell you the important figures, dates, outcomes, and even a little extra that most university professors didn't know. But when it came to the Dark Wars, especially about the near-legendary hero Harry Potter, he knew next to nothing.

Actually, it was not that he knew nothing; indeed, he knew more about those years than some specialists in the field. It was just in Leto's nature to learn about all that had transpired during those events. He liked looking at history as a long, long story, where seeemingly random happenings tied in and brought the truth of the times to full color. With the Dark Wars, and especially Harry Potter, there _were_ gaping holes in those stories as _True Stories of Three Wars_ observed, though he did not neccesarily agree with Mrs.Thyme on her rather unusual theories. Nevertheless, those 'holes' in his story irked Leto.

Picking up Horrors, an old, fat black cat from his lap, he lightly dropped her on the floor and got up from the easy chair, stretching as far as his 5'11" frame allowed. He then walked out of the study, neck still sore from his marathon reading, to find something to eat.

Leto strolled into the kitchen to find his father eating dinner and reading a muggle paper, as usual. Leto had spent his last few weeks at his childhood home to work independently. Leto's father Theo was a muggle, and his long deceased mother was a witch, making him halfblood. The older man was now in his late sixties, his light brown hair peppered with grey, his skin already becoming papery and light with age. Leto's father was a history professor at Oxford, which oft made people think that his son followed in his steps. How wrong they were.

Theo looked up as his son rummaged through the fridge, pulling out a casserole and rice. "Finally out of the study, I see. Find anything of use?"

From the tight frown on Leto's face as he put his food into the therma-wave to heat it up, he already knew the answer. "Well, I did find a few interesting facts I didn't know before." He took the food out, aimlessly picking at it with his fork as he leaned on the counter top. He chewed slowly, his father's piercing gaze lingering on him. "And no," Leto finally added, "I didn't find the information I wanted on Harry Potter."

Leto, after deciding to write an intrepid paper on Harry Potter's life and death during the wars, had spent the better of two months digging for the more rare publications about the topic. After about a month of fruitless searches in every magical library in Britian, and a few in neighboring countries, he thought he had finally struck gold when he found an unusual tome in Glasgow, written by the mysterious Penny Thyme.

And now he was back to square one, with _True Stories of Three Wars_ found out as another nut's batty conspiracy ramblings. But, he supposed, there were some interesting facts in there, if they actually were _true_ as the title said. He would have to follow up on those, see the sources Mrs. Thyme used.

"Well, it was to be expected. Did you think a Dark War expert hadn't already tried to do what you are trying now? It was tried dozens of times, I imagine." His father took a sip of tea, and went back to scanning the paper. "It isn't too late to change the topic of your paper, is it?"

Leto inwardly growled as he responded, "No, I don't think I'd have enough time to switch to another topic, and even if I could, I wouldn't. I really want to do this, father."

"Well, if that's what you want. It'd be a shame to ruin your perfect standings, but if you wish…"His father turned his attention fully to the paper once more as Leto stormed out towards the study again, more frustrated than when he came in.

Pushing his annoyance to the side, Leto thought about the problem rationally. Truthfully, Theo had a point. If he couldn't get some substantial evidence, then he _would_ fail the paper, which was more than just a significant portion of his final grade, but also a chance to make a mark in his field, and a ticket to Herodotus University (The premier school for magical historians). He _had_ to dig deeper.

Placing his cooling dinner on a narrow coffee table by the hearth, he picked up the odd book that so many of his hopes had been riding on. Perhaps he could still find something of value within it. He flipped to the references and started looking. Perhaps, perhaps, it would point him to where he wanted to go. He started searching.

I tried to add these as footnotes as if it came from a real book, but it couldn't format properly. So, I put them here:

1. The Battle of Stonespeak occurred March 15, 2007, at (as the legend goes) dusk. The battle was fought at Stonehenge, and is the reason this battle was named as such: The Stones were reported to have sung, in what some swore was ancient Gaelic, as they fought.

2. Bleeding Wednesday occurred the day after the battle of Stonespeak on March 16, 2007. An estimated total of 4,000 civilian wizards and witches were killed, the range of the victims' ages ranging between two and ninety-eight.

3.The title 'Reign of Bad Faith' is a pun; In French, the name Malfoy can be translated literally in to 'of bad faith'.

4. MMG- Magical Magnitude Scale, created by Bernatio Billikins, Italy,1652. Measures the intensity of the power of a magical occurrence, usually used on the scale of natural magical phenomenons. The scale goes from 1-13, one being the weakest, and thirteen being the strongest. It is measured by the distance the magical occurrence's magical resonance can be felt from, with 13 as a shockwave that can be felt around the world.

5. The date of 1802 refers to the Spring of Glory, a naturally formed fountain that burst through a foothill in the Alps. It's MMG read as a 7.5. It's water is said to have healing properties.

6. The Klepheimer Exam was made by Arnold Klepheimer in Vermont, America, 1962. It is a foolproof test that reads the amount of magical energy in the test taker.

7. Wilhemina the Great was the protector of the Emerald Isle throughout Dark Wars II and III, and became a member of the OotP during the tail end of DWII. Noted for having taken down fifteen high profile deatheaters, she was a prime target for the Sons of Saul. She was killed August 23, 2007 by the Dark Lord Malfoy at her home in Cork.


End file.
